


Killian? Is that you?

by bransch



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 02:32:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14010261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bransch/pseuds/bransch
Summary: Henry and his wife Jacinda move to Seattle and discover that their neighbor looks just like Henry's stepfather. No magic AU.





	Killian? Is that you?

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I wrote last fall just after the start of S7. My favorite way to write is to imagine "what if" and a lot of times that "what if" comes in the form of thinking about how these situations would play out in a modern, no-magic world. Hope you enjoy!

“Are you sure about this?” Henry asked as he walked around the apartment. It wasn’t much. Of course, he and Jacinda had stayed in smaller places than this, but, with the baby on the way, he couldn’t help the thought that this would quickly become very cramped.

“You having second thoughts?” Jay asked. He couldn’t help the smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as he looked upon his wife. How had this goddess agreed to marry him?

“I’ll gladly go anywhere as long as I am with you. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to be so close to your stepmother and stepsisters.”

“Victoria and Ivy won’t be a problem. And Ana and I have always got along well. It will be nice to be close to her again. She’s so excited to be an aunt.”

“I know, and I’m glad you’ll get to spend some time with her again. I guess I’m just nervous. This is a big leap of faith for us.”

“I know. It’s a lot. Starting the food truck with Sabine. Moving to a new city. You finally making time to write your novel. It’s all big leap of faith. But, no risk, no reward, right? And we have been saving up for this for two years. We can make this work.”

“You sound more optimistic than usual. I guess having breakfast with Sabine infused you with confidence.”

She smiled. “Something like that.” She stepped closer and took his hands in her own. “I know the baby throws a wrench in all our plans, but it’s not like it’s insurmountable. We can do this.”

“The baby is what makes me so nervous. Is it really a good idea for me to spend so much time focusing on my writing? Maybe I should try to find a steadier job.”

“You make good money driving for Swyft, as you’ve told me many times. Stop doubting yourself, Henry Mills. I’m supposed to be the one with insecurities that you help me overcome.”

“I love you,” Henry whispered as he pulled his wife in for a kiss.

Jacinda pulled back and smiled momentarily before turning her head abruptly to look at the intruder who’d suddenly stepped through the open door of their new apartment.

“Helloooooo,” the newcomer said. She was a teenager with wavy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Despite her innocuous appearance, Henry couldn’t help but feel like there was something off about her.

“Hi there,” Jacinda responded in a wary tone.

“Are you the new tenants?” She had some kind of British accent, though he couldn’t quite place the region.

“We are.” He stepped forward and extended his hand. “Henry Mills, and this is my wife, Jacinda.”

“Alice Rogers,” She replied, capturing his hand in a firm shake. With her free hand she reached into the pocket of her oversized jacket and pulled out a jar of something that looked like jam, but in a bright orange color. She handed it to Henry. “Here’s a little welcome to the neighborhood gift. It’s marmalade. I make it with my Papa. He and I live across the hall.”

“Thank you,” Jay said as she took the jar from Henry. “Is your Papa around? I’d like to start meeting our neighbors.”

“He’s at work. He’s a cop. Well, detective, actually. He just got promoted. I’ll bring him by later.” Alice turned and walked off without waiting for a response.

“Well… she’s… peculiar.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Jacinda replied.

“I’m sure she’s harmless. She’s just a quirky teenager. It wasn’t that long ago that you and I were teens. You know how hard you try at that age to establish your identity.”

“You sure you’re not a psychologist?”

“Just an observer of people. That’s what makes for a good author, right?”

Jay smiled and give him a quick peck on the lips before walking into the bedroom to talk about furniture placement.

* * *

It was a week after they moved in before Henry actually met Detective Rogers. Apparently his cases kept him working odd hours. Then, one Saturday morning, returning home after a grocery run, Henry saw the door to Alice’s apartment open and her Papa step out. Only, it wasn’t her Papa. It was Henry’s stepfather.

“Killian?” Henry asked as he stared at the man. It didn’t make any sense. Killian was supposed to be in Storybrooke with Henry’s mom, Emma, helping raise his stepsister, Hope. What was he doing in Seattle, leaving Alice’s apartment?

The man didn’t appear to have heard him. He extended his hand. “You must be Henry. Alice told me about you. I’m Joel Rogers. Welcome to the building.”

He was stunned. The likeness was uncanny. Their voices even sounded the same. It was as if they were twins. Rogers cleared his throat, and Henry noticed the outstretched hand. He took it and gave a nervous shake. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little confused. Do you have a brother? A twin named Killian?”

“That’s an odd question. I guess it’s altogether possible, but the only family I know of is my Alice. I’m an orphan.” Rogers laughed nervously. “Why? Have you met him?”

Henry had a strong urge to pull out his phone and face time with Killian at that very moment, but he ignored it. He needed to talk to Killian first. What were the odds of finding his stepdad’s doppelganger on the other side of the country? “Um, you look like someone I know is all. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. I’d better get inside. I need to put the milk away.”

“Indeed. Don’t want it to spoil. Well, I’m sure I will see you around Henry. Have a good day.”

“You too.”

After he put the groceries away, he checked on Jacinda. She was still sleeping. She’d been having bad heartburn from the pregnancy, and it was disrupting her sleep. Deciding to let her rest some more, he closed the door to their bedroom and settled on the couch. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed his mom.

_“Henry,”_  she answered warmly.  _“It’s nice to hear from you. How’s Jacinda?”_

“She’s doing OK. Just a lot of heartburn at night.”

_“Poor thing. I had heartburn with Hope. Maybe it’s a sign that your baby is a girl.”_

“Yeah, maybe. Hey, is Killian around?”

_“Yeah, he’s making lunch for Hope. Hang on a minute.”_  Henry heard her walk into the kitchen and hand the phone to her husband.

_“Hello lad,”_  Killian said as he took the phone. _“Everything alright?”_

“Oh yeah, everything is going well. Better than I could have hoped. But something weird just happened. Do you know if you have a twin brother?”

Killian chuckled, and it sounded so much like Rogers.  _“I don’t believe I do. The only brother I know of is Liam. Why?”_

“Because I just met my neighbor, and he looks and sounds just like you.”

_“Bloody hell. Did you get a picture?”_

“No. I didn’t want to freak him out. I wanted to talk with you first. And anyway, he’s a cop so he probably wouldn’t appreciate me taking random pictures of him.”

_“Probably not. How strange. I’ll call Liam and ask him, but he probably won’t be of much use. You know I was five before Liam learned of my existence.”_

“Okay, thanks. Let me know what he says.”

_“I will, lad. Talk soon.”_

* * *

Liam had no idea why there was a Killian lookalike in Seattle. The mystery continued to grow. Unfortunately, Henry hardly ever saw Detective Rogers. One day, when he should have been working on his book, it all got to be too much to ignore. He dug out a photo album his grandma made for his graduation. It was a scrapbook, with the pages meticulously laid out and the photos glued in place. He found the picture he was looking for and removed the page from the protective sleeve. There was a little guilt as he ripped the photo away, tearing the page and a few accompanying stickers, but he shrugged it off. His grandma would forgive him.

He stepped out of the apartment and made the short walk across the hall, knocking on Rogers’ door. Alice answered.

“Hello Henry. How can I help you?”

“Alice… shouldn’t you be in school?”

“Today’s a teacher planning day. Whatcha got there?” Before he could react, she snatched the photo from his grasp and stared at it closely. “What’s this? Why do you have a picture of my papa? And who’s that woman in the wedding dress?”

“That woman is my mom. Well, one of them, anyway… that’s not important. What is important is that the groom is not your papa. It’s my stepdad.”

“So… you have two moms and one of them is married to a man who looks exactly like my papa? That seems strange.”

“You’re telling me. I’ve been wondering about it for over a week. I asked Killian, that’s my stepdad, Killian Jones, and he had no clue. And your dad mentioned to me that he’s an orphan.”

“He is. Well, I guess that makes you my cousin, in a way. Welcome to the family!” She reached out and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

“Whoa, whoa,” Henry said as he extracted himself from her grasp. “Two things. One, I don’t think it works that way. And two, I’m not sure I want to be seen hugging my underage teen neighbor in the hall. People like to talk.”

“I’m a lesbian. Everyone here knows that. And even if they don’t, let them talk. People always talk because they need something to occupy their minds. Anyway, grab your keys. Let’s go.”

“Go? Where?”

“Down to the station to find papa and show him this.” She still held tightly to the photograph. She was already halfway down the hall before she turned around. “Come on, cousin Henry.”

Henry grabbed his keys and locked his apartment door before following her down the stairs.

* * *

They walked into the station. Alice acted like she owned the place, but her pass did not extend to Henry. Every officer gave him a wary look. She led him to an empty desk with a nameplate reading ‘Joel E. Rogers.’

“Your dad’s middle initial is E?”

“Standards for Edward.”

“Did people call him the Jolly Roger when he was a kid?”

The desk sergeant overheard him and laughed loudly. “We still do!”

“Oi!” Alice yelled. “I thought you called him Eagle Scout now.”

“He can have two nicknames,” the sergeant yelled back.

“Come now, Marley,” Rogers said as he walked out of a conference room. “I have three nicknames. Don’t forget about Captain Hook.” He held up his left hand, which was gloved and looked stiff. Henry realized for the first time that it was a prosthetic.

“Now that there’s a chance you could make Captain one day, I’d rather not call you that one,” Marley replied. The phone rang before he could say more, and he answered it. Rogers walked to his desk.

“Hello my little love.” He pulled Alice in for a brief hug. “Henry, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Um… “ Henry began, but Alice jumped in.

“We came to show you this, Papa.” She held out the photo. Rogers took it in his good hand and stared at it for a moment.

“That’s me, but I don’t recall this moment. I’ve never been married.”

“That’s not you. That’s my stepdad. His name’s Killian Jones. He lives in Maine with my mom and stepsister.”

“Bloody hell…”

“That’s what he said when I told him. His mother died when he was young and he was abandoned by his father. He never knew anything about having a twin.”

“So, you think this man could be my long-lost twin brother?”

“What other explanation could there be?”

“I don’t know…” he wiped his face with his hand. “Bloody hell.”

“Henry,” Alice said, “give me your phone. Unlock it first.” Henry’s eyes never left Rogers as he handed his phone to Alice. “Come with me, boys.” She led them into the same conference room Rogers had just emerged from. Fortunately, it was empty. Once they were all in, Alice opened the FaceTime app and tapped the icon to call Killian.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Henry asked.

“Why delay? I always find it’s better to rip the bandage off in situations like this.”

Killian answered after a moment.  _“You’re not Henry.”_

“Nope. My name’s Alice. But don’t worry, Henry’s here and he’s fine.” She motioned to Henry and he stepped behind her, waving over his shoulder.

_“Henry, what’s going on? Everything okay with Jacinda?”_

“Yeah,” Henry said, taking the phone from Alice. “Just needed to show you something.” He walked over to Rogers and stood next to him, angling the phone to get the other man in the frame. “Killian, I believe this man may be your twin separated at birth. Meet Joel Rogers.” He handed the phone to Rogers and stepped back.

_“Bloody hell…”_  Killian said.

“You’re telling me, mate,” Rogers replied. “Apologies for the shock. My Alice can be a bit too direct at times.”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not in the room, Papa.”

Rogers smiled at his daughter. Henry heard Killian chuckle, and knew he was smiling too.

_“I have a daughter as well. She can be quite the handful.”_

“Just wait until she’s a teenager.”

* * *

Henry hustled around the apartment, preparing the small space for Thanksgiving dinner. Fortunately, Sabine had offered to cook. The food truck she ran with Jacinda was parked downstairs, the two friends using the commercial grade equipment to prepare the meal. Henry was tasked with rearranging furniture while they cooked. His mom, Killian, and Hope would be arriving at any minute, and Rogers and Alice would be joining later, along with Sabine’s mother. Once he was satisfied with the arrangement of seats, he returned to his phone, compiling the perfect playlist for the day.

Rogers and Killian had taken to speaking almost daily, but today would be their first face-to-face meeting. Their bond became very strong, very fast. Henry could see they were both happy to have another family connection.

Alice became a regular at Henry and Jacinda’s apartment. With her dad working such odd hours, Jay had insisted that Alice have dinner with them more frequently. She was indeed quirky, but she had a kind heart. She’d already offered to babysit once Lucy was born. Henry wasn’t sure Jay would let anyone near Lucy for the first few months, but his mother assured him that she would relent eventually, and then they’d be glad to have a teenage relative across the hall to help give them a break.

Henry reflected on the last few months in Seattle. The food truck was doing well, and he’d made significant progress on his book. And to top it all off he had discovered a long-lost Uncle and cousin. For Henry Mills, who prided himself on his family, two new additions were more than welcome. He definitely had a lot to be thankful for this year.


End file.
